Sliders: The Next Generation
by Black Scarab
Summary: In 2013, a young man replicates the work of Quinn Mallory and drags his friend with him to become Sliders.
1. Prologue

Sliders: The Next Generation.

I DO NOT OWN SLIDERS!

Prologue:

The year is 2013, the Mallory House has not been lived in since 2000. Mrs. Mallory moved out, because the big house got lonely, but it was never put up for sale since she knew her son would return. She left Quinn's room exactly how it was back when he left. And one day, he would come back to her.

Ten years later, a young man moves into the neighborhood, and makes friends with some of the college students living in the area. He is a student of physics and is interested in the theory of parallel universes. He is especially enthralled with the key to solving the equation to create an Einstein-Rosen-Podolsky Bridge.

"Yeah, that's the old Mallory house, rumor has it that Quinn, Mrs. Mallory's son disappeared in the basement. Along with his girlfriend and Professor Arturo, he used to teach at Cal U. There was also this washed up singer that disappeared at the same time, but they were never connected." Sam Evans said.

"Wow! What do you think happened?" Michael Josephson said. Having just moved in, this was the first he was hearing about this.

"My personal theory?" Sam asked. "I think he was part of a government conspiracy and they abducted him."

"That's insane." Michael replied.

"Not really. What do you think happened?" Sam asked.

"I don't know, maybe he phased them onto another plane." Michael replied.

"You're watching too much Star Trek, that doesn't just happen." Sam said.

"Whatever, the abandoned house is pretty creepy." Michael said.

"You think so?" Sam asked. "I dare you to sneak into the basement. The window is slightly open, probably for the cat that used to live there."

"Fine!" Michael said, and he walked over to the gate, pulling it open, as it creaked open. "You coming?"

"Hell no! I dared you to go in!" Sam said.

"You're an ass." Michael said and walked to the basement window. He opened it and climbed in. He saw the room, which was covered with mathematical equations, and electrical components. "Wow! This place is awesome!"

He walked around and started looking at everything, nearly every paper was labeled with the words "Sliding" on it. Michael looked at the blackboard and suddenly it hit him. It was the equation to open an Einstein-Rosen-Podolsky Bridge. Michael grabbed a stack of papers and shoved it in his bag and ran out of the room. He rushed to Sam and grabbed his shoulders.

"Dude! Do you know what was in there?" Michael asked as Sam looked confused.

"What?" Sam replied.

"The key to traveling to another universe. I think that's what happened to Quinn." Michael said.

"He traveled to another universe?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Precisely!" Michael shouted and started to run down the block.

"Where are you going?" Sam shouted.

"To do what Quinn Mallory did!" Michael replied and ran to his car, to go back to his dorm room.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Michael sat at his computer and was running the simulations for the test. He had stayed up the past three nights trying to solve the equation. He was having trouble creating the "Timer", which was the portal device he needed. He saw that Quinn had cannibalized a Motorola phone, but Michael wanted to use something a bit more modern, he took an iPhone and was turning it into the perfect timer.

"God damn it!" Michael shouted, as he tried to make the phone show the display for the portal.

"Dude, calm down, we're not even sure this stuff even works!" Sam said.

"It works, I know it does." Michael said.

"Whatever..." Sam said.

"I did it!" Michael screamed so loud, Sam fell off his chair.

"You did?"

"Yeah! All we need to do is set it for a half hour, that's all we need to check out this new universe. But we need to be in the Mallory house. Just in case."

"Okay." Sam said and they drove back to the house and slipped into the basement.

"You ready?" Michael asked.

"Yeah.. but what if it doesn't work?"

"We die. But if it does, we become... uh... what would it be called when you travel between universes?"

"Jumpers?" Sam suggested.

"No. That sounds lame. How about... Sliders?" Michael asked.

"Sounds good."

"Let's do it!" Michael said and aimed the timer at a wall. He pressed the button and a portal appeared as the room shook.

"It actually worked..." Sam said, staring at the portal.

"Let's go!" Michael said leaping in.

"Wait up!" Sam shouted, jumping after them.

They fell through the portal and were looking around at the strange "walls" of the portal. The journey was short, as they both landed on the floor. They looked around at a much more "lived in" room than they had left from. The door at the top of the stairs opened and a man ran down the stairs.

"Who the hell are you?" the man asked.

"Uh, we're travelers from another universe?" Michael said, hoping he would believe them.

"You got it to work?" the man asked.

"The timer? Yeah, it wasn't that hard, the equation was already solved for me." Michael replied. "I'm Michael Josephson, and this is my friend, Sam."

"Nice to meet you both, I'm Quinn Mallory." the man said.

"But didn't he disappear years ago?" Sam asked.

"In our universe, but in this one, he never completed sliding." Michael replied.

"Anyway, I'm happy to see that the theory actually works. Say, would you be willing to give me the solution to the equation?" Quinn asked.

"Sorry, I think we need a Prime Directive here, no cross contaminating the multiverse." Michael replied.

"Sure. I get it. I'd probably have the same idea in your place." Quinn said. If you'd like, you can come upstairs and look around. The wife's at work and the kids are at school."

"Oh, cool." Michael said and the three walked upstairs. They passed photos of Quinn with a woman, and three kids.

"So, those are your kids?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, there's Quinn Jr, Max, and Remmy." Quinn said. "Not sure why the name Remmy came to us, but it did. Wade does believe in the paranormal and astrology and that stuff."

"Wow. So, what did you do since you didn't invent sliding?" Michael asked.

"Well, I finished college and became a teacher. I retired a few years ago, I didn't like that I was stuck in one job." Quinn said.

"Really? What happened to your mom? In our universe, after you disappeared, she just sorta moved out." Sam asked.

"She moved into a retirement home. Not that spectacular." Quinn said.

"Oh, well this is interesting. I can't believe it actually worked." Michael said.

"Yeah." Sam said.

The timer began to vibrate and Michael grabbed his pocket. He pulled the timer out, and saw that they had two minutes left.

"Sam! We gotta go!" Michael said.

"It was... uh... nice meeting you, Quinn." Sam said.

"Yeah, have fun, sliding." Quinn said.

"We will. Thanks by the way." Michael said.

"Why?"

"You had the same equation. I'm sure in different circumstances, you would have invented it here too."

"Thanks." Quinn said.

Michael and Sam ran downstairs and Michael activated the timer. The portal opened again and they jumped through together. They landed back in the dark basement.

"That was fun, but let's not do that again for a bit." Sam said. "My stomach is a bit out of it."

"Yeah. I need to perfect this stuff first though..." Michael said.

"See you tomorrow," Sam said and left the basement.

"And now to grab more of these notes..." Michael said as the sound of a portal opening behind him made him turn around. A figure emerged from the portal...

"Who are you?" Michael asked.

The figure held his hand up and walked out of the portal as it closed.

"No... it can't be!" Michael shouted.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

The figure emerged from the shadows, revealing it to be Michael, or rather an alternate version of him.

"You're... me?" Michael asked.

"Sort of..." Michael's double replied.

"Why are you here?" Michael asked.

"Well, you know how in Star Trek, the Vulcans showed up after humans gained warp? Well, I'm the ambassador to your universe. I just came to make sure you know the rules of sliding." Michael's double replied.

"Okay. What are they?" Michael asked.

"You can't give the technology to another universe, a Quinn Mallory did that and it resulted in an alternate timeline fiasco that just got fixed." Michael's double said.

"Really?" Michael asked.

"Yeah. You will not believe how hard it was to rectify that stuff." Michael's double said.

"Is that all?" Michael asked. "Because I figured that those were the rules."

"Yep. I have a few seconds left here. And now!" Michael's double said. He turned his timer to the wall and opened up another portal. "See you around!"

"Yeah..." Michael said as his double disappeared. "That was weird..."


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Michael stood in his dorm room standing next to Sam and they were staring at the wall. Michael took out the timer and shifted it in his hands.

"So... You want to go to another world?" Michael asked.

"Let's do it!" Sam replied.

"Okay..." Michael said and pointed the timer to the wall. He set the timer for 20 minutes and clicked the button. A beam emitted from the top of the timer and it was sent at the wall, becoming a portal.

"You first." Sam said.

"No, you go first, I have the timer." Michael rebuked.

"Fine..." Sam said reluctantly and jumped into the portal.

"Here we go again!" Michael shouted and leapt into the portal.

The duo drifted in the vortex and were soon deposited onto another Earth. They landed into a dorm room, same basic look as the one they left from. However it was furnished differently. They stood up and brushed themselves off.

"Do the landings ever get easier?" Sam asked.

"I sure hope so." Michael said. "Let's look around."

"Wow, check this out." Sam said picking up a piece of paper.

"Let me see that." Michael said snatching the paper out of Sam's hands. The paper was labeled, _Theory of Parallel Universes By Rebecca Collins._ "She sounds smart..."

"Looks like a girl lives here in this universe. We better leave before she gets here..." Sam said.

"Yeah... Good idea." Michael said as the doorknob began to shake.

"Damn!" Sam said as he and Michael tried to stand innocently.

A young woman, about Michael and Sam's age walked into the room, she was pretty and Michael and Sam noticed that immediately, looking her up and down. Her neutral face became a scowl when she saw the two sliders.

"Who the hell are you two?" she asked.

"Well... uh... ha... I'm Michael and this is my buddy, Sam..." Michael replied.

"What are you doing in my dorm? I'll call the RA, she'll get you kicked out of college." she said.

"Listen, we aren't from around here. And we'll be gone in 20 minutes, we swear." Sam said.

"I want you out of here right now. GET OUT!" she shouted.

"Sorry, Rebecca. We didn't mean to intrude." Michael said.

"Just get out now!" Rebecca shouted and opened the door, pointing outside.

"Got it... Sorry." Sam said and the two of you walked out, Rebecca slamming the door behind you.

"Well, looks like we just made our first enemy." Michael said.

"Yeah, let's see if this universe still has the student lounge, so we can watch some TV and see how this universe is different." Sam said.

"Good idea!" Michael said and they headed for the lounge.

They walked in to see a group of students situated on the couch, all with horrified expressions on their faces.

"What's wrong" Sam asked. The students pointed to the TV screen.

"This is an emergency broadcast. A meteor is falling through the atmosphere and NASA is telling us that it is about to explode, which will theoretically cause a Electromagnetic pulse to be emitted and cause all electronic technology to fail for at least two days. NASA reports that the population has about fifteen minutes until the explosion." the newscaster said.

"Dude, is the timer electronic?" Sam asked.

"Yeah..." Michael said with a grim face.

"And what happens if we miss the window?

"We're stuck here for 29.7 years."

"How much time do we have left?"

"Fourteen minutes."

"Let's get back to that dorm room, so at least when we land home, no one else sees the portal."

"Let's do it."

The sliders made their way back to Rebecca's room and frantically knocked on the door. Michael glanced at the timer, five minutes.

"Let us in!" Michael pleaded.

"We'll just go, we just need to get in!" Sam said. They heard the door unlock and Rebecca opened it and they ran in.

"Okay, what do you want?" Rebecca asked.

"There's this shockwave about to hit the earth, and it'll knock out all electronics, and we need to be in here, so that this will work." Michael replied showing her the timer.

"What's that?" she asked.

"It's a timer, it allows us to travel to parallel universes. I saw your paper, you believe the theory, well... it actually works!" Michael replied.

"Okay... One one condition. I get to come with you." Rebecca said.

"No way! We can't drag another person with us!" Sam said.

"Sure. If you'll let us stay until the window opens, you can come through." Michael said.

"Dude!" Sam said.

"Calm down. We have a few seconds left now." Michael said.

Rebecca turned on her computer and opened a news site. The reporter was frantically reporting.

"The shockwave will hit in ten seconds! God speed, viewers. God... speed." the reporter said.

"Now!" Michael said pressing the button. As he did, the shockwave hit, scrambling all electronics, and sending an electric current into the timer.

"Oh my god..." Rebecca said, amazed.

"What the hell?" Sam asked as the portal opened and they jumped in.

The three sliders fell through the vortex and out onto a dorm room floor. Michael got up to check the timer, and started going through the dimensional coordinates list.

"That was awesome! I can't believe it worked!" Rebecca shouted.

"Not quite..." Michael said.

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"It scrambled the coordinates. We aren't home." Michael said.

The three looked around to see an abandoned room, with windows boarded up from the outside. The floor was bare, the bed had no mattress.

"Where are we?" Rebecca asked.

"Well, I know we're not in Kansas anymore." Sam said.

_**TO BE CONTINUED**_


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

"Not funny!" Michael said as he and Rebecca glared at Sam.

"Where are we then, Mr. Parallel Universe Traveler" Rebecca asked.

"No idea." Michael said. "But the timer's coordinates are scrambled. I can't get a reading on how long we'll be here."

"What?" Sam asked and grabbed the timer. "Oh crap, we're going to be stuck here for 29.7 years, aren't we?"

"Not if we can fix it. Is there a TV or radio in here, so we can check the news?" Michael asked.

"Here's one." Rebecca said dusting off a radio and turning it on.

"Hello and welcome to a special emergency bulletin. The war rages on, and shows no sign of stopping. The French government has given the United States an ultimatum, surrender, or they will drop their nuclear bombs onto American soil. The French have already taken over all of Europe and is trying to take Russia as well, but they are fighting back and are our only ally." the newscaster said before Rebecca turned the radio off.

"What the hell? The French took over the world? But aren't they the cheese eating surrender monkeys?" Sam asked.

"All universes are different. I guess this one has a different France..." Rebecca replied.

"Okay, so we need to get some electronic parts, I think the shockwave just shorted the motherboard out, but we should check some stores." Michael said.

"Well, let's get a move on them..." Sam said ripping the wood off the window and poked his head out the window. "Uh, guys? Better get a look at this!"

Michael and Rebecca looked out of the window and saw the city of San Fransisco. However, there were no people walking around.

"Why did you bring us here?" Rebecca asked.

"It was your stupid world, and that shockwave's fault!" Michael replied.

"Guys, calm down, fighting won't fix the timer." Sam said and he opened the door. "Let's go scan the city."

"Fine..." Michael said and they walked out of the dorm into the abandoned school, and then to the front door.

"There's no people here. Where are they?" Sam asked.

"Probably in bomb shelters." Rebecca replied. "If that nuclear threat is any sign."

"Wonder if there's a Radio Shack or a Best Buy around. At least there we could find some parts for the timer." Michael said.

"Might as well check the city." Sam said.

"Yep..." Michael sighed and they started to walk around the abandoned city.

Soon, they came across an electronics store, which was barricaded, but they forced themselves into the store. Michael scoured the shelves while Rebecca and Sam took apart the timer.

"So, you aren't Michael's double from that universe right?" Sam asked.

"What? No! Why would you think that?" Rebecca replied.

"Because you lived in what in our universe was his dorm room." Sam said.

"Sam! That was the girl's wing until 1996, I guess they never changed it on her Earth." Michael shouted from behind the counter.

"Oh..." Sam said.

"Got it!" Michael shouted, and a loud bang came from the counter. "Ow..."

"Got a bit too excited there?" Rebecca asked.

"Shut up, just give me the timer." Michael replied and picked up the timer. He fitted the motherboard in and screwed the back into it. The timer blinked on and numbers appeared on the screen. The display stated five minutes twenty-three seconds. "Guys! We need to get ready to use this now! I just have to find the home coordinates. Wait..."

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"Our home coordinates have been erased, along with Rebecca's." Michael said.

"You did what?" Rebecca asked angrily.

"It was the shockwave! It would've happened anyway, except that we'd be stuck on your world for 29.7 years. All we have to do is slide randomly until we find our worlds." Michael said.

"This is your fault!" Rebecca shouted. "If you didn't show up in my dorm, I'd be in class right now!"

"You asked to come, Sam wanted to leave you in your world." Michael shouted back.

"Guys, let's just slide." Sam said and they walked outside into the street.

"Fine..." Michael said as they walked into an alley, the timer hit zero and he opened the portal. The trio jumped in and slid through the vortex.

_**To Be Continued**_


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

The trio landed on the ground in the alley and brushed themselves off. They looked around and stepped out of the alley as Michael glanced at the timer.

"Okay, we have about two days plus some change to figure out if this is our world or not." Michael said.

"I'm banking on not..." Rebecca said as they noticed the people in the street staring at them.

"What are you looking at?" Sam asked the people. "Do I have a hole in my jacket?" he said trying to look at his back.

"Hey! Stop right there!" a police officer shouted and they all put their hands up.

"What seems to be the problem officer?" Michael asked.

"How old are you?" the officer asked.

"Twenty." Michael responded. Rebecca and Sam nodded their heads in agreement.

"What are you doing out of the center?" the officer asked.

"Center?" Rebecca asked.

"The Center, it's where all persons from the ages of sixteen to twenty-two are supposed to be held." the officer replied confused.

"Listen, we aren't from around here..." Michael said.

"I'm sorry, but I have to take you in." the officer said and started to handcuff Michael.

"Get off of him!" Sam shouted as he and Rebecca were grabbed by two more officers.

They were thrown into a truck and taken to a dome where they were put into a holding cell. The officer stood at the door of the cell and held out his hand.

"Empty your pockets." the officer ordered.

"Okay..." Michael said and handed the officer his wallet, keys, and the timer.

"Weird phone you have here..." the officer said.

"Will we get that back?" Michael asked as Sam and Rebecca emptied their pockets.

"If it's non-lethal, you'll get it after processing." the officer said.

"Thanks." Michael said and they sat down on the bench in the cell.

"So... Anyone want to say a bit about themselves? We don't know eachother that well as a group yet..." Sam said.

"I guess. Rebecca, since me and Sam know eachother, you go first." Michael said.

"Fine. What do you want to know?" Rebecca started. "I was born in San Francisco, was a prodigy, started at Cal U, and was on the fast track to becoming a physicist, and then you came along and stole that away!"

"Hmm. Well I was born in New York, I was pretty good at math and science in high school and did a few years at a local college until Cal U gave me a scholarship and I found the Mallory house and the key to creating sliding." Michael said.

"Well, I on the other hand, kind of barely passed through school and went to Cal U and kind of got roped into this after I dared Michael to sneak into the Mallory house. This is much more fun than school though." Sam said.

Your definition of fun must be different than mine..." Rebecca said.

The officer returned to the cell and stood in front of the bars. He motioned for them to stand up and they stood.

"You'll have to spend the night here, then go to processing in the morning. After that you'll be safe in the center." the officer said.

"If you don't mind me asking, why do we need to be in the center?" Sam asked.

"Because, teenagers are dangerous, and raise insurance prices, it was decided in the early 80's that teenagers between the ages of sixteen to twenty-two should be held in a facility to ensure that they are not a danger to themselves or others." the officer said.

"That's ridiculous!" Rebecca shouted. "Not all teenagers are like that!"

"Yes, but we can't be sure, so we keep them all in a safe haven." the officer replied.

"That's like the internment camps in World War II!" Sam shouted.

"World War II? What are you talking about?" the officer asked.

"Uh, he's talking about a movie." Michael said.

"Ah. Anyway, have a safe night!" the officer said and walked away.

They laid down on the floor of the cell and closed their eyes to fall asleep, and hoped they would get the timer back in the morning. They were awoken by a loud clanging coming from outside the cell. Michael shook Sam and Rebecca awake and they looked up to see the officer from yesterday standing with a tray of food.

"Breakfast time!" he said cheerfully.

"Thanks..." Michael said taking the covered plates on the tray and handed two to Sam and Rebecca.

"What is it?" Sam asked taking the cover off to see an oatmeal like substance.

"Nutrameal. It gives you your necessary daily intake of vitamins and minerals." the officer replied.

"It looks nasty!" Rebecca said making a disgusted face.

"Eat up. You can't go into processing on an empty stomach." the officer said.

"It's not that bad!" Sam said after swallowing a spoonful.

"I'll pass..." Rebecca said.

"When in Rome..." Michael said and dipped his spoon in and took a bite. "Not the worst food ever..."

"Okay, time for processing!" the officer said and opened the door of the cell.

They walked out of the cell and another officer walked up to take Rebecca to the women's processing.

"Wait! She's with us, you can't separate us!" Michael shouted.

"You'll meet back up after processing, kid." the second officer said condescendingly.

"Good luck." Michael said to Rebecca.

"Don't leave without me." Rebecca said.

Michael and Sam were led to a medical room, and a doctor and a nurse walked into the room. He looked them up and down and turned to his nurse.

"Prep them for processing, nurse." the doctor said.

"Yes, Dr. Schlumper." the nurse said. "Please step into the other room and strip into these gowns."

"Okay..." Michael said and him and Sam walked into the other room and changed into the gowns.

They emerged and were immediately scanned by some strange scanning device. Dr. Schlumper checked his charts and turned to them.

"Do you have any diseases?" he asked.

"Nope." Michael and Sam replied in unison.

"Okay, seems like you check out. Go change into these, and go out to the waiting room." he said handing them what looked like a combination of a blue jumpsuit and scrubs. They changed into the uniforms and walked back into the room. The officer escorted them into what looked like the student lounge, but it was all white. A white couch, white television, white walls.

"You can wait here now. Your belongings are still being examined. Your friend will be along soon." he said.

"Thanks." Michael said and sat on the couch.

"Well, this sucks. Those were my favorite pair of pants!" Sam said.

"Calm down, all we have to do is wait for the timer. We should get it back, the timer acts like a normal phone, since I put a fail safe in so that they can't open it without my password. So, they'll just give it back, hopefully." Michael said.

"Here's hoping..." Sam said.

An officer walked in and escorted Rebecca to the couch she sat down and crossed her arms. She glared at Michael and Sam.

"Lemme guess, those were your favorite shoes or something?" Michael asked.

"Yes!" Rebecca huffed.

"I know your pain..." Sam said.

"Guys it doesn't matter, just as long as we aren't stuck here." Michael said.

The officer walked into the room carrying a blue plastic cube and sat it on the table in front of the couch.

"Here's the stuff that made it through processing. We had to confiscate some stuff though." the officer said.

"What?" Michael said running to the cube and digging in it, pulling out the timer. "What did you confiscate?"

"One of you had chewing gum, and that's a choking hazard." the officer said. "Plus, the key you had was very sharp."

"Oh... That makes sense..." Sam said looking confused.

"Thanks for our stuff back." Michael said fishing out his wallet and checking it for his ID, and the money, which was untouched.

"Yeah..." Sam said taking his stuff out of the box, followed by Rebecca doing the same.

The officer left and Michael turned on the timer, checking the time. The timer displayed the time as twenty-three hours.

"Guys, we still have a day til we slide." Michael said.

"Great going!" Rebecca said.

"Hopefully we don't need to eat any more Nutrameal before we slide." Sam said.

They sat on the couch for a while, until Sam got up to turn the television on. The screen blinked to life and a documentary on plants turned on.

"Change the channel!" Rebecca said.

"I can't there's only an on button and no remote!" Sam said.

"Must be part of their enrichment program..." Michael muttered as he tapped his fingers on the back of the timer.

"We should try to get some sleep, we'll want to be well rested before the slide." Sam said.

"Good idea." Rebecca said and she buried her face in a pillow as Sam turned the television off.

Michael lay awake for the next few hours as he stared at the timer. He sighed and put it on the table.

"Why did I create that? Why did I not only doom myself, but my best friend and this girl I don't even know to the same fate?" Michael asked himself.

"Don't sweat it. For all intents and purposes, this is more fun than what I'd be doing without you inventing sliding." Sam said sitting up rubbing his eyes.

"I guess. But I feel bad for Rebecca, I mean she insisted, but we could have knocked her out of the way before we jumped in." Michael said.

"Come on, she loves this, it's her theories coming to life. She just won't admit it, trust me, I can read people pretty well." Sam said.

"Whatever. We still have like twelve hours before the slide. What do we do til then?" Michael asked.

"No idea." Sam yawned.

"Psst!" someone whispered from behind the television. It was a person, about their age dressed in the same uniform.

"Who said that?" Michael asked.

"Me, I'm Allan. Nice to meet you." he said outstretching his hand.

"I'm Michael, this is Sam, and the girl sleeping on the couch is Rebecca." Michael said.

"Great. I see you guys are new, how'd you evade them for this long, you're like twenty! That's four solid years of hiding. I was only able to do it for two months!" Allan said.

"We're not from around here, we just ended up in town and they caught us." Sam said.

"Oh yeah, they don't do this in Canada. Why'd you cross the border?" Allan asked.

"It was more of an accident..." Michael said.

"Whatever, I need your help. We're planning an escape, and we need someone new, who hasn't done anything yet to be involved. You in?" Allan asked.

"Sure!" Sam said. "As long as it'll be done in twelve hours."

"Should be done by then, why?" Allan asked.

"We have plans..." Michael replied.

"Okay then! It's a plan. All you guys need to do is distract the guard when I give the signal. You'll know it when you see it." Allan said.

"Got it." Sam said.

"All right, see you on the flip side." Allan said walking away.

"Are you sure we should do this?" Michael asked.

"Why not?" Sam asked. "We're outta here in twelve hours anyway."

"I don't want to interfere with affairs on different earths. I'd rather not cause a war." Michael said.

"Who's causing a war?" Rebecca asked, already sitting up.

"Sam just agreed to help orchestrate a prison break." Michael said.

"Sounds like fun." Rebecca said.

"Not really." Michael said.

They sat around for the next few hours, which involved the officer giving them more Nutrameal. Soon, there was about two minutes left on the timer.

"When is this thing happening? We only have two minutes left until we slide!" Michael said.

"I don't know!" Sam said.

"Hey! Stop right there!" an officer said as Allan ran into the room and held up three fingers.

"Is that the signal?" Michael asked.

"I guess so!" Sam replied and put his leg out to trip the officer.

"We need a bigger distraction than that guys!" Allan shouted as he was running across the room.

"Michael, you heard the guy." Rebecca said pointing at the timer.

"Oh... Good idea. How's this?" Michael asked as the timer timed out and the portal appeared.

"Woah!" Allan said mesmerized.

"Good luck!" Rebecca shouted jumping into the portal.

"I would start that prison break now..." Sam said jumping in.

"Watch out for the guards!" Michael said and he jumped into the portal and the portal closed.

"What the hell was that?" the officer said staring at where the portal was.

The trio fell through the vortex and were headed for the next world.

_**To Be Continued**_


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

The portal opened onto the new world and the three sliders fell out onto the grass in Golden Gate Park.

"What are we doing here?" Rebecca asked, brushing herself off.

"The Center was probably where Golden Gate Park is in other universes." Sam said.

"Yeah, and we have about twelve hours here." Michael said looking at the timer.

"Is this your universe?" Rebecca asked.

"Probably not. It wouldn't be this easy to find..." Michael replied.

"Let's look around, do we have money to get food? I'm hungry!" Sam said and started walking toward the street.

"I didn't grab my purse before we left my earth." Rebecca said smirking at Michael.

"I have about $100, I'll buy lunch this time." Michael said.

"Where do we want to go?" Sam asked.

"I didn't live in San Francisco for that long on our earth, where are the good places to eat?" Michael asked.

"There's the diner on 49th street." Rebecca suggested.

"Oh yeah! I love that place, they have the best fries!" Sam added.

"Let's go there, then." Michael said and they started walking down the street.

The trio walked toward the diner and walked in to sit down and eat. They sat with the menus as they debated on what to get.

"I'm getting the pizza burger with fries." Sam said to the waitress.

"I'll have the grilled cheese." Rebecca said.

"And I'll have the spaghetti." Michael said.

"All right, that'll be coming along soon." the waitress said as she walked away.

"This totally beats that Nutrameal stuff." Sam said.

"Definitely." Rebecca said.

"So, do you think we should search our duplicates on this world? See if they might know how to fix the timer?" Michael asked.

"Not sure, they might think we're nuts." Rebecca said.

"I still think we should check out the Mallory house though. Just to see if this world's Quinn had different notes than our Quinn." Michael said.

"Fair enough." Rebecca said.

"Did you say Mallory House?" a young man in the booth next to them asked.

"Yeah. Why?" Michael asked.

"Dude! That place is haunted!"the young man replied.

"Really? How do you know?" Sam asked.

"Because, almost twenty years ago Quinn, the guy that lived there disappeared." the young man responded.

"I heard about that. That was with his girlfriend, the college professor and the singer right?" Michael asked.

"Yeah! You know about that?" the young man asked.

"I just heard about it from a friend." Michael replied. "I'm Michael by the way."

"Oh, I'm Conrad Bennish, The Third." the young man said. "And be careful by the Mallory house. My dad was friends with Quinn. Got invited in by the FBI after Quinn disappeared. They couldn't figure out what happened though."

"We'll be careful." Michael said as the waitress came to their table with the food.

They ate their food, and talked over the meal. They finished and Michael paid the bill and they started walking to the Mallory House. They reached the house and saw the same abandoned house that was on Earth Prime.

"Looks just like our universe. But can it be ours?" Sam asked.

"I know how to make sure." Michael said and ran into the yard past the squeaky gate and into the basement window. He climbed out a minute later shaking his head. "Nope! All the notes that I took from the house in our universe are still here!"

"Damn it! I was hoping it was home!" Sam said.

"And what would you do with me when you got there?" Rebecca asked.

"Give you the timer and let you find your own world?" Michael asked.

"You're an ass." Rebecca replied.

"It's true!" Michael rebutted.

"Hmph!" Rebecca pouted and turned away from Michael.

"How much time left?" Sam asked.

"Ten hours." Michael replied.

"Want to go check out Cal U and see if your duplicate invented sliding?" Sam asked.

"Why not?" Michael said and they walked to a bus stop and got on the bus. They got off at Cal U and walked inside the campus.

"Let's check the dorm registry so we can see if our duplicates are in the same place." Sam said.

"Good idea." Michael said and he walked to the dorms and checked the registry on the door. It displayed his name with his room number. "Let's go check it out."

The trio walked to the floor that Michael's dorm was on, and Michael took out his key and put it into the lock. It opened into an empty room cluttered with papers.

"Looks like your room!" Sam said patting his friend on the back.

"Yeah, but no timer, no sliding, no nothing." Michael said. "What's this?" he picked up a photo by the bed that wasn't in his universe. It was a picture of him, Sam and Rebecca together in front of the school.

"The hell?" Sam asked. "What is Rebecca doing in this picture?"

"Like I'd of ever hung out with you guys!" Rebecca said as the doorknob shook.

"Who is it?" Michael shouted.

"Me, silly!" a female voice replied.

"Hide!" Sam whispered to Rebecca as she ran into the closet.

The door opened to reveal Rebecca, and Michael and Sam had a bout of deja vu from the shock wave universe.

"Hey, honey!" Rebecca said and immediately hugged Michael.

"Uh, hi, Rebecca..." Michael said while making a confused face to Sam, who shrugged.

"I thought you weren't going to be back until tomorrow, but Dan said that he saw you come up here. Why are you back early?" Rebecca's double asked.

"Uh... I finished up early. And I wanted to surprise you?" Michael said unsure.

"That's so sweet! I had a dinner date planned for tomorrow, but we can do it tonight!" Rebecca's double said.

"Why don't we save it for tomorrow, I kind of want to rest." Michael said.

"Come on! You've been gone for two months!" Rebecca's double pleaded.

"Let me rest and I'll get back to you." Michael insisted.

"Fine... I'll see you later for your special surprise..." Rebecca's double said eyeing Michael up and down.

"See you later." Michael said opening the door for Rebecca's double as she left and closed the door.

"Oh, gag me!" Rebecca shouted emerging from the closet.

"What?" Michael asked.

"Me and you? In what universe?" Rebecca asked.

"Apparently this one..." Sam replied grinning.

"We need to figure out where I was in this universe. Just in case I get roped into that dinner." Michael said.

"Check the computer." Rebecca said.

"Good idea!" Michael said and turned to the computer and put in the password and opened up his email program. "Let's see, ah, big trip! Big trip to... England? For a scientific convention?"

"Wow! Nice!" Sam said.

"Okay, science convention for two months... Interesting..." Michael said.

"This universe doesn't have a conflict, that worries me." Sam said.

"Yeah..." Rebecca said.

"Whatever, I might have a hot date tonight. If I can figure out how to pretend to me by double of course." Michael said.

"We'll need to keep you hidden though," Sam said to Rebecca.

"Yeah, since there can't be two Rebeccas running around. And god knows, one is enough" Michael said.

"So, I'm just supposed to sit around and do nothing while you gallivant around this universe?" Rebecca asked.

"Yes. Unless you want to screw with the natural order of this universe." Michael said.

"So, Rebecca you stay here, and Michael will keep the other Rebecca away from here. I'll be the link between you two so that we can all communicate." Sam said.

"Sounds like a plan." Michael and Rebecca said in unison.

Michael spent the next few hours preparing for his dinner date with Rebecca's double and Sam planned out the night. They had all changed into actual clothes, with Michael finding one of Rebecca's double's outfits in the dorm room.

"So, we'll slide around midnight. All we have to do is make sure that the date ends around 11:50, so we have enough time to group and then we slide." Sam said.

"And I'll stay here, and Sam, you should guard the door in case someone tries to get in." Rebecca said.

"How do I look?" Michael asked turning around from the mirror, wearing a black blazer and a charcoal button down shirt.

"What does my double see in you?" Rebecca asked.

"You look fine. Just go on the date, so there's no suspicion and we'll be good." Sam said.

"I'm off then. Does this change your mind about me Rebecca? Knowing that another you finds me attractive?" Michael asked brushing his hand through his hair.

"Nope." Rebecca smiled.

Michael left the room and made his way to Rebecca's dorm. He knocked and she opened the door, wearing a sexy dress.

"Hello, beautiful..." Michael said.

"You don't look half bad yourself." Rebecca said.

"Where did you plan the dinner to be?" Michael asked.

"Your favorite place." Rebecca replied smiling.

"I have a lot of favorite places..." Michael said.

"I'm not playing games tonight, we have reservations at Versailles Bistro in ten minutes." Rebecca said.

"Ah, let's go then." he said extending his hand. She grabbed it and they walked down to the parking lot. Rebecca stopped in front of the passenger door of a car.

"Ahem." she said.

"Yeah?" Michael asked.

"Did you forget your keys again?" Rebecca asked. "I can't believe you." she fished a set of car keys out of her purse and threw them to him.

"Right... The car..." Michael said and opened the doors and they sat down. Michael started the car up and started to drive.

"Are you alright? You look like you've never driven this car before." Rebecca asked.

"Yeah, two months away from it has made me forget how to drive it..." Michael said feigning a laugh.

They arrived at the bistro and sat down for dinner. Meanwhile, a few hours passed in the dorm room for Rebecca and Sam. Sam stood up and walked toward the door.

"I'm going to the bathroom, be right back." Sam said.

"Got it." Rebecca said.

A few minutes later, the door opened and Michael walked in. Rebecca could tell it wasn't Michael, because of the clothes, which were not the blazer he left in. He thew his bag on the bed and turned to see Rebecca.

"Hey, Rebecca." he said with a crooked smile. "Sam told you I'd be back early and you wanted to surprise me?"

"Uh... Yeah." Rebecca said unsure.

"So, let's get down to business." Michael's double said as he started to unzip his pants.

"What are you doing?" Rebecca said as her eyes widened.

"When I left, you said I'd get a special surprise when I got back. What else could it be?" he asked.

"Listen, I'm not really up to it right now..." Rebecca said.

"Come on, I'm sure I can convince you..." he said as he sat on the bed next to her and grabbed her.

Just then, Sam burst into the room and looked at Michael's double and to Rebecca, and back to Michael's double.

"Rebecca! There's something really important that you need to help me with!" Sam shouted.

"Dude! Cockblock!" Michael's double said standing up and zipping his pants back up.

"Phew..." Rebecca sighed in relief.

"I'll be right back, I need to take a piss." Michael's double said as he walked out of the room.

"Listen, we need to get to that restaurant right now." Sam said. "It's 11:30, we slide in a half hour."

"Let's go then!" Rebecca said and they ran out to the parking lot and hailed a cab.

They arrived at the restaurant and ran inside. Rebecca sat in the waiting area and Sam went up to the hostess.

"Hey, is there a Collins party for two here?" Sam asked.

"Yes, right at that table in the back." the hostess replied pointing to the table that Michael and Rebecca's double were at.

"Thanks." Sam said running to the back of the restaurant. He checked his watch, it was 11:55, they slid in five minutes. He ran to the table to see Michael and Rebecca's double laughing.

"Hey dude! Did you know the drinking age is eighteen on this world?" Michael asked.

"Michael, I need to talk to you for a minute." Sam said. "Excuse us." Sam led Michael to the front of the restaurant.

"What's up man?" Michael asked, obviously drunk.

"We slide in five minutes, that's whats up." Sam replied.

"That's like... an hour from now, we're fine." Michael said.

"God dammit." Sam said.

"Let's get him out back..." Rebecca said and they led Michael to the alley behind the restaurant. As they did it, Michael's double pulled up in a cab.

"Rebecca! What the hell was that? You ditched me!" Michael's double asked.

"The surprise was reservations here! Go inside to the table in the back, and you'll get the next part." Rebecca said seductively.

"Oh... I like where this is going..." Michael's double said walking into the bistro.

"We slide in three... two... one!" Sam said as the timer went off and the portal opened. They pushed Michael into the portal and leaped in behind him.

_**To Be Continued...**_


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

The sliders fell out of a portal above the alley way and landed on the ground. Michael grabbed his stomach and fell over.

"I don't feel so good." Michael said.

"Serves you right for drinking." Rebecca said.

"What was I supposed to do? Your double ordered the drink for me!" Michael rebuked.

"Guys, stop fighting, we need to figure out where we are. We have about half a day here." Sam said.

"Man, we've been getting lucky with the times huh, we haven't hit a world with more time than two days." Michael said.

"Anyway, let's check this place out. It might not be so nice..." Rebecca said.

"Good idea." Michael said as they walked out of the alleyway.

The trio stepped out to see a sleek white city. The buildings, streets and even the cars seemed to be made of of the same shiny white plastic.

"Is this the future?" Rebecca asked.

"Can't be. The timer is only programmed to travel between universes, not travel through time. This must be a more evolved society." Michael replied.

"Wow. I guess we should check around for some people." Rebecca said.

"There's some people over there!" Sam said.

"Let's go introduce ourselves..." Michael said as they walked toward a group of people.

The people were all wearing similar clothing. It was a completely black uniform, that seemed almost military in nature, except with rank insignia. The sliders walked up to the people who were conversing.

"Hi there. Uh, I'm Michael, and these are Sam, and Rebecca. We're new around here, can you tell us where the best sights to see are?" Michael asked.

"Ah yes, the government allowed attractions. Those are quite good. I especially like the large ball of synthetic string." the tallest one, and seemingly the leader said. "Oh, and my name is Lewis, and these are Doug, Noah and Lindsay." the other three waved.

"Is this a police state?" Sam asked.

"Ha ha, no. This is a socialist utopia." Lewis said.

"Indeed. We follow the views of Robert Owen, and Charles Fourier." Doug said.

"Wow..." Rebecca said. "Sounds interesting..."

"The utopian towns sprung up after the American Civil War, as the Confederate's invention of mustard gas led to the decimation of the Eastern cities. The survivors migrated to the west and created utopias, free of war, poverty and hunger." Lindsay said.

"But how is there no crime? You can't just stop crime!" Sam said.

"It's not that hard. The government regulates everything, everyone has what they need, and no one has more than anyone else." Noah said.

"Isn't that communism?" Rebecca whispered to Michael, who nodded affirmatively back.

"Anyway, we have to go, we must now go work, as our daily allotted work time is over." Lewis said.

"Nice to meet you..." Michael said and the sliders began to walk the opposite way to scope the city until they had to slide.

"Guys, this is insane. The government has complete control!" Sam said. "We have to help them!"

"This isn't our war." Michael said. "We lay low, and we slide. That's it."

"I hate to say it, but Michael's right. We can't get involved in another world's politics." Rebecca said.

A disheveled and dirty looking young man suddenly shot out of an alleyway. He appeared to be in his mid-twenties, and was very unshaven.

"You guys! You can't hang out with those nutjobs! The government controls everything, but I'm off the grid. Come with me." the man said. "I'm James by the way."

The sliders followed the man into an alleyway, where he lifted a garbage can to reveal a hidden tunnel. They climbed into the tunnel and started to walk through it.

"These are from when, during World War I, the Democratic Rebellion used to hide out, now my group, the American Party for the Liberation of the People, or APLP, hide out." James said.

"Tell me more about the history behind this world." Sam said.

"You really aren't from around here, are you?" James asked.

"Nope, tell us." Sam replied.

"Well, after the utopian towns showed up, the government turned them all into utopias. Then, after the entire country became utopias, except for the East Coast, which they left to their own devices after they got involved in the foreign wars. Then, when Russia did the same thing, following the ideals of Karl Marx, and then of course, taking over America was easy. There was so much propaganda in the damn news, radio and television, that no one noticed. Cept for me of course, I noticed and so did my people." James said.

"Sounds terrible!" Rebecca said.

"Try living it. Anyway, here we are." James said leading them into an alcove with a bunch of people polishing weapons. "Stand down!"

"Hi! Uh, we're just visiting for another... few hours or so." Michael said.

"Nice to meetcha." one of them said.

"Anyway... We'll get out of your way..." Michael said stepping backwards toward the door to the alcove.

"Not so fast, how do we know that they won't turn us in?" another of the group asked.

"Because, I agree with your cause! This utopia is a mad house!" Sam said.

"I like this guy!" the man who asked the question, who was a large man slapped Sam on the back. "You'll fit right in!"

"Right..." Rebecca said. "We just need to lay low for a bit."

"Yeah, so we can't really help out all that much." Michael said.

"Listen. I saved you, therefore, you owe me big time. We have a mission that must be done by unregistered people. And you definitely are." James said.

"We aren't helping." Michael said.

"Yes we are." Sam said, and he stood in front of the door to the alcove. "We have to do it, this world needs us! It needs a change!"

"Fine..." Michael said, and turned to Rebecca. "Sam is a bit... stubborn. When he gets an idea he goes with it. It'll be alright."

"Yeah!" the group shouted and ushered the sliders into a room with equipment.

"Take what you want." James said and pointed to a wall of armor and guns.

"I'll take this." Sam said picking up a large gun.

"I'll pass." Rebecca said.

"Don't want to take part in the fight?" Sam asked.

"I hate guns. Something I was taught by my dad." Rebecca said.

"Really?" Michael asked.

"Yeah. My grandfather was killed in a hunting accident. My dad has abhorred guns ever since." Rebecca said. "He instilled the idea in me."

"Well, I'd rather not touch the guns either. I think Rebecca and I will stay behind with the timer." Michael said.

"Fine then. Suit yourselves." Sam said. "Let's kick some utopian ass!"

The group of freedom fighters, and Sam ran off as Michael and Rebecca remained behind and stared at the timer. Michael turned to Rebecca.

"So, about that last world. What happened with my double?" Michael asked.

"He thought I was his Rebecca, and we led him to the restaurant to do the switch." Rebecca replied. "Why?"

"I saw that guy, he seemed like a sleaze. And I might have been drunk, but it seemed like you left in a hurry." Michael said.

"Well... He might have been a little forceful, but I just figured that it was how this universe was." Rebecca said.

"Did you punch him in the face? Because I would've." Michael said.

"If Sam hadn't walked in at the right time, he would've been lying on the ground, and my double would be arrested for assault." Rebecca said.

"Well, if we ever land on a world where it's the reverse scenario, and your double tries any of that on me, I'll respectfully tell her no." Michael said smiling.

Suddenly a group of large men in the black uniforms that Lewis and his associates wore ran into the room. They aimed their guns at Michael and Rebecca, who put their hands up.

"Come with us. Now!" one of the men said.

They were led out of the sewers and into one of the white buildings. They were shoved into a cell and a force-field appeared at the door.

"God damn it!" Michael shouted. "I knew we shouldn't have gotten involved!"

"Calm down. I'm sure we'll get out of this." Rebecca said putting her hand on his shoulder.

"At least we still have the..." Michael said grabbing his pocket. "The timer!"

"How did we lose it?" Rebecca asked.

"They must have taken it when they brought us here." Michael said.

"I hope they didn't get Sam. He was with those freedom fighters, and we might not get to him before the slide." Rebecca said.

"Me too." Michael said.

Meanwhile, Sam sat in the interrogation room, as an officer punched him in the face. Sam just sat there smiling at the officer.

"Just tell us what this is, and we'll give you back your friends." the officer said pointing to the timer.

"I told you. It's a device that can open a portal to another universe." Sam said.

"Nice try, the government has said many times that travel between dimensions is impossible." the officer said.

"Your government is wrong!" Sam said.

"Shut your face!" the officer said punching Sam again.

Michael sat with Rebecca in the cell. He stared out of the cell and rested his face in his palms. He looked at Rebecca.

"Hey, what's your opinion of me?" Michael asked.

"Taking away that stuff about stranding me away from my home, you're okay I guess." Rebecca said.

"Am I attractive?" Michael asked.

"To me? No. But I guess to someone else you could be." Rebecca replied.

An officer walked up to the cell and turned off the force-field. Michael and Rebecca stood up and braced themselves for a fight. The officer took off their goggles to reveal that they were in fact, Lewis.

"Guys, I'm breaking the law, but I felt I owed you." Lewis said motioning to the door.

"Thanks. Do you know where Sam and my "phone" are?" Michael asked.

"Yes. I'll bring you there." Lewis said and led them to a room. He opened the door and Sam was lying in a chair.

"Sam!" Michael shouted and ran in to untie him. Rebecca grabbed the timer and looked at it.

"We have a minute!" Rebecca shouted.

"I got Sam untied!" Michael said and stood Sam up. "Buddy, are you okay?"

"The government is lying! Fight the power!" Sam said.

"Is he telling the truth?" Lewis asked.

"Listen, I'm not sure, but there's this guy named James, and he can tell you everything. We have to go." Michael replied as Rebecca activated the timer. The vortex opened and Michael pushed Sam in and he and Rebecca followed. Lewis looked on in awe.

"Oh my god..." Lewis said.

_**To Be Continued**_


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

The sliders fell out of the portal and Sam rubbed his face. He had a few bruises, but he was no worse for wear.

"Guys! Why did we leave?" Sam asked.

"Because the timer was up. It wasn't our choice!" Michael replied.

"Anyway, where are we?" Rebecca asked.

"Looks like, the street in front of Cal-U." Michael said.

"How much time?" Sam asked.

"A day." Rebecca replied.

Suddenly a young man walked up to the group. He seemed familiar to all of them, but they couldn't put their finger on why.

"Are you alright?" the man asked Sam, noticing the bumps and bruises.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine." Sam said.

"That's good, say I haven't seen you three around. I'm Robert, Robert Collins." the man said.

"That's weird... cause her last name is Collins too." Sam said pointing to Rebecca.

"Must be a common last name," Michael said.

"Say, you two look familiar." Robert said pointing to Michael and Sam. "You look like you could be related to my friends, Michelle and Samantha."

"Huh. Don't know them." Michael said.

"Anyway, see you around." Robert said walking into the gates of Cal-U.

"Oh my god." Rebecca said.

"What?" Sam asked.

"We must be on a gender swapped world, because that guy is me if I was male, and I bet his friends are your female doubles." Rebecca replied.

"How can you tell?" Michael asked.

"His mannerisms are identical to mine, and doesn't he look like me a little bit? And he said that you two resembled his friends." Rebecca replied.

"Well then. This is an interesting Earth. I guess that means that we can't get into the college with our ID cards, then." Michael said.

"Most likely." Rebecca replied. "What now?"

"Can we get lunch? I haven't eaten since that world with the diner." Sam said.

"Good idea. We can see if the pizza place that was popular on the campus of my Earth is on this one." Rebecca said.

The three walked to the pizza place and sure enough, it was there. They walked in and got a table and prepared to order.

"Just get a pie. We'll eat it." Michael told Rebecca, handing her a $20.

"Okay. But I'm getting pepperoni on it, and that's not up for discussion." Rebecca said and walked to the counter as Michael sat back down. The girl at the counter turned around, and Rebecca was taken aback at who she saw. It was Sam's female double. She looked just like him, but with long hair, and was the opposite gender.

"Are you okay, miss?" Samantha asked.

"Oh, yeah... You just look a lot like someone I know." Rebecca said.

"You look like my friend too... Do you know Robert Collins?" Samantha asked.

"Nope. Oh, and can I get a pepperoni pie?" Rebecca responded.

"Sure. That'll be $7." Samantha said.

"Okay." Rebecca said handing her the $20 and getting her change. She returned to the table and looked at Sam, and started giggling.

"What's so funny?" Sam asked.

"Your double is working at the counter." Rebecca said.

"She's pretty hot." Sam said.

"Dude! That's gross!" Michael said.

"Hey, my double had it going on. If he wasn't me, I'd find him attractive." Rebecca said.

"Wonder what mine looks like..." Michael said.

Suddenly a young woman ran frantically into the pizza parlor and ran to the counter. She threw down a paper and started to talk animatedly to Samantha.

"I've done it! I've discovered the key to the Einstein Rosen Podolsky Bridge! It's gonna be huge!" she shouted.

"Calm down, I'm at work, do you want to get me fired?" Samantha asked.

"Just meet me in our dorm when your shift is over. This is going to be awesome!" she shouted and turned to leave. The sliders noticed that it was Michael's double who was shouting about Einstein Rosen Podolsky bridges.

"Hold on." Rebecca said and walked over to Michelle. "Excuse me, Miss. But are you talking about the theory of parallel worlds?"

"Yes, how did you know?" Michelle asked.

"I'm a fan of them as well. Although, if I must give you a tip or two, make sure that you don't lose your home coordinates. That might not end so well." Rebecca replied.

"You've traveled to another world? Are you from another world?" Michelle asked.

"Can't say too much, but good luck." Rebecca replied and went to sit down as Michelle left.

"Why were you talking to my double?" Michael asked.

"I figured that she needed to have a warning to guard the home coordinates. I don't want to doom anyone else to this fate." Rebecca replied.

"Fair enough." Michael said.

"Excuse me, miss! Your pizza's ready!" Samantha shouted to Rebecca. Rebecca got the pizza and thanked Samantha and returned to the table.

"So, what do you think of your double?" Rebecca asked.

"Eh, since I know she's me, I can't find her attractive." Michael said picking up a slice of pizza.

"I knew it was mine, and I thought she was hot..." Sam said shoving the pizza into his mouth.

"Yeah, but you're you." Michael said.

"What is that supposed to imply?" Sam asked.

"In the two months I've known you, you have expressed interest in dating many females, and a few fictional characters." Michael replied smiling.

"Man, I wish I knew you two months ago..." Rebecca said giggling.

"Anyway, how much time do we have left?" Michael asked.

"Right. Uh, about twenty hours." Rebecca said.

"Think we could find a place to crash? I'm beat since that last world." Sam said.

"Yeah, me too." Michael said.

"I remember on my world, there was a motel near campus, it wasn't much, but it was a cheap place." Rebecca said.

"Good idea. It'll be good to sleep in an actual bed, the last two places I've slept were prison cells." Michael said.

The trio walked to the motel and checked in for the day. They walked into the room, and collapsed onto the beds. The first to reawaken was Rebecca. She went to the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror.

"Jeez, I haven't showered since the world where me and Michael were a couple..." Rebecca said to herself. With that, she stripped her clothes off and stepped into the shower and turned it on. She showered herself and put her clothes back on. She started brushing her hair when a knock started on the door. "Yes?"

"It's me!" Michael said.

"Come in!" Rebecca replied.

"We have about a half hour before we slide." Michael said. "Just wanted to warn you."

"Oh! Can we stop by Cal U before we leave?" Rebecca asked.

"Why?" Michael replied.

"If this is the day that your double invented sliding, then I want to warn them of the problems that can happen." Rebecca said.

"Good idea." Michael said.

"Wake up Sam, and we'll head on over." Rebecca said.

The three made their way back to Cal U, and snuck up into the dorms. Michael knocked on the door to what was his dorm on his world, and hoped it was right. Robert opened the door and smiled.

"Oh, hey! You're those people I saw on the ground yesterday. Listen, my friend's onto some interesting stuff, so I can't really talk." Robert started.

"Yeah, that's what we're here to talk about. Can we come in?" Michael asked.

"I guess..." Robert said.

They walked into the room to see Michelle holding her version of the timer, and showing it off to Samantha. She turned to the trio and made an angry face.

"Who are these people?" Michelle asked.

"I'm Rebecca, we met yesterday. Listen... I said I couldn't tell you I was from another world, but I feel that I should give you a few warnings." Rebecca said.

"And, in case you don't want to believe us, I'm your double from another earth." Michael said.

"Yeah, right." Michelle said. "Why are you a male? Shouldn't my double be a woman?"

"Actually, most of my doubles I've met are male. You're the first female I've found." Michael said.

As the two Josephsons were arguing, Sam and Samantha were staring at eachother, dumbfounded.

"I really hope they don't start kissing, that'd be nasty." Robert said.

"Yeah. Anyway, we have about two minutes left, so we better make this quick." Rebecca said.

"What do you mean?" Robert asked.

"Be careful about currents going into your timer, if it gets hit by a shockwave, or something like that, your home coordinates could be lost." Rebecca said.

"We'll be careful." Robert said.

"Guys! We're out of here!" Rebecca said, pointing the timer at the door.

"Sorry, but we have to bounce!" Michael said leaping into the portal.

"See you later, hopefully." Sam said to his double as he leapt into the portal.

"Sam!" Rebecca said laughing at Sam's flirtations with his double. "Have a fun sliding journey!" she said to the soon to be sliders.

The wormhole closed and the three soon to be sliders watched on in awe. Michelle held her timer up and pointed it at the wall.

"We're going to have a fun time, aren't we?" Michelle said as the new wormhole opened.


	10. Chapter 9

_Well, this is interesting. I never thought I'd get this far. And I'd like to thank you for reading and reviewing... With a poll! Which world from the show do you want to see revisited. The world from "The Guardian" or, the world from "Prophets and Loss"? Also, check out .com for more Sliders goodness._

* * *

Chapter 9:

The three sliders landed in a pile of leaves in front of the Mallory House. Michael brushed himself off and ran into the basement, the ritual to check if they had returned home. He came running out smiling.

"They're gone! All the papers I took, gone!" Michael shouted. "We're home!"

"How do you know it's not a similar but different world?" Rebecca asked.

"I don't care! I'm sure that this is home, it just feels right!" Michael replied. "And we have a week to find out!"

"Well then, we should head over to Cal U to check your dorm." Rebecca said.

"Good idea!" Sam said and the three started to walk to the bus stop.

They didn't notice an older man, who looked like the prototypical hippie watching them. He rubbed his eyes and smiled.

"Far out!" he said and started running toward Cal U.

The man ran into a classroom where a man was collecting papers off of the desk in the front.

"Arturo, dude! I saw the portal!" the man said.

"What are you going on about, Mr. Bennish?" the man said.

"Dude! I saw the vortex, it wasn't Quinn, but it was another group of people coming out. But it was just like the one Quinn had!" Conrad Bennish Jr. said.

"My word! Thank you, Mr. Bennish! It's been nearly two decades, but this is fantastic. Did they say where they were going?" Arturo asked.

"Yeah, they're coming here!" Conrad Bennish Jr. said.

"Fantastic. I take back everything I've ever said about you. You are a great ally!" Arturo said.

The sliders walked up to Cal U, and it looked exactly how they all remembered it. They stepped onto the campus, and Arturo came running up to them.

"Hello, are you the students who disappeared a few months ago? Uh, Michael and... Sam was it?" Arturo asked.

"Yeah." Michael said, turning and smiling to Rebecca. "We're home!"

"Anyway, I'll be off, but I'd love it if you stopped by my class tomorrow, and discussed where you've been. I believe I have a faint idea that you are where, Mr. Mallory went..." Arturo said.

"Yeah..." Sam said and they walked to Michael's dorm room.

"So, we're home!" Michael shouted.

"Not quite..." Sam said.

"How do you know?" Rebecca asked.

"That man, who was talking to us, that was Professor Arturo, he disappeared with Quinn." Sam said.

"Listen, we've been gone for a few weeks, maybe they found their way back, that's why he knows we went sliding." Michael said.

"Yeah... But that's unlikely." Sam said. "I say we investigate this world."

"Whatever..." Michael said, his head turning to Rebecca. "Here's the timer, you have a week, you can stay if you want, but... I'd like it if you stayed."

"Why?" Rebecca asked.

"The crap that we went through, I can't believe that you can brave that alone, I mean, Sam's been beaten and tied up, the only way we escaped was by teamwork. I'd never be able to live with myself if you missed the gateway on some world." Michael replied.

"I'll think about it, and hey, maybe you can fix the timer so that I can use this world as a waystation until I find mine." Rebecca said.

"Yeah." Michael smiled.

"Anyway, let's get some rest. And I might need to call my parents..." Sam said.

The three sliders slept, showered and changed their clothes, and took care of unfinished business.

"Anyway, we should head down to the quantum physics class." Michael said. "If that guy really is Professor Arturo, he might know how to fix the timer so that Rebecca can find her Earth faster."

"We should be wary though. In the event this isn't your home Earth." Rebecca said.

"Let's go then!" Sam said and the three made their way to Professor Arturo's classroom. He greeted them with a smile.

"Oh hello, Mr. Josephson! And Mr. Evans! And... Ms... I don't believe I caught your name." Professor Arturo said.

"Rebecca Collins. I'm not from around here..." Rebecca said.

"Great! Anyway, I want to know all about your trip!" Professor Arturo said.

"Uh, listen... Didn't you leave with Quinn?" Sam asked.

"Well... I assumed you'd ask that. I did. However I was separated from them on another world, I eventually found my way home, around the time you disappeared." Professor Arturo said.

"Yeah, we just took all of Quinn's notes and used them to make a new timer." Michael said.

"That is brilliant, my boy!" Professor Arturo said.

"Thanks." Michael said.

"Anyway, is there a way that you could possibly show me the notes? They locked off your dorm room after your disappearance." Professor Arturo said.

"We'd love it if you could help hone the timer, and make it work better, because, well, Rebecca is from another world, and we need to make it so it can take her home." Michael said.

"I have the basic knowledge of it, I can fix yours up!" Professor Arturo said.

"That's great!" Michael said. "It's a great help!"

"Of course, we'd have to test it first, so I'd have to use it, and come right back." Professor Arturo said.

"That seems fair, although I'd have to come with you." Michael said. "If it breaks, I'd be able to fix it."

"No, no, no. Sliding is no game, you are home and therefore must stay home. I can't let someone get stranded out in the multiverse like I did." Professor Arturo said.

"Well, I guess that's fine." Michael said.

"Anyway, I think that we're going to go look around while you guys discuss this stuff." Sam said. "Let's go Rebecca."

"But I want to stay." Rebecca said.

"We need to talk..." Sam said seriously as they left the building and went to the yard on the campus.

"What is it?" Rebecca asked.

"We're not home." Sam replied.

"I know that! This is your Earth!" Rebecca said.

"No it isn't. I've done some research. I knew something wasn't right when I saw Arturo." Sam said.

"How can you tell?" Rebecca asked.

"My dad loved football, his favorite Super Bowl was the one in 1985. He was so happy that the 49ers beat the Dolphins." Sam started.

"And?" Rebecca asked.

"In this reality, it was the Jets that were defeated by the 49ers! When I was talking to my dad on the phone yesterday, he wasn't sure if it was me, and I said that his favorite Super Bowl was that one. And he said that the Jets didn't know what hit them, and that confused me." Sam said. "We're not home!"

"Why didn't you tell Michael?" Rebecca asked.

"He was with Arturo, who can't possibly be our Arturo. I don't trust him." Sam replied.

"When do we tell him?" Rebecca asked.

"Later this week. We might as well see where the fixing the timer might go." Sam responded.

"Good idea. I'm sorry." Rebecca said.

"Why?" Sam asked.

"Because, you're not home." Rebecca said.

"Please! I don't want to go home, that means I go back to my grind of going to classes. This is a hell of a lot more fun!" Sam said.

"You sure have a bright outlook on life." Rebecca said. "But how can you be sure about one football game being the clincher of fixing your opinion?"

"Well, I was watching the news today. And there was a traffic jam on the bridge." Sam said.

"Golden Gate?" Rebecca asked.

"Azure Gate." Sam said taking out his phone that displayed a picture of a blue hued Golden Gate Bridge.

"That clinches it!" Rebecca said nodding.

Three days later, Michael had been making great strides in replicating the timer, and giving it the ability to backup coordinates again. Rebecca and Sam came up to him as he was soldering a component.

"Uh, Michael... We need to talk." Sam said.

"What is it?" Michael asked. "I'm super busy. There's only three days until the timer hits zero."

"And we leave?" Sam asked.

"No, Rebecca leaves, we're home." Michael said.

"That's what we need to talk about." Rebecca said.

"We're not home." Sam said.

"Ha ha ha!" Michael laughed. "Nice try! This is home, same Earth, same San Francisco, and the same Golden Gate Bridge."

"Look that up." Sam said.

"What?" Michael asked.

"Look up the Golden Gate Bridge." Sam said.

"I don't know what you're trying to pull..." Michael said typing the bridge's name into the search bar. No results came up, but there were plenty for the Azure Gate Bridge. Michael's face fell and he stood up and walked to his bed and collapsed.

"Are you okay?" Rebecca asked.

"WE'RE NOT HOME!" Michael shouted as he shoved his face into a pillow.

"But we can still find it." Sam said.

"I'm not leaving. What good am I?" Michael asked. "I can open the flood gates, but my ark is a piece of crap! I'm a freaking failure!"

"Michael, it's fine. We'll just keep sliding til we find it." Sam said.

"And what if we don't? Huh?" Michael asked.

"We keep looking. Calm down." Sam said.

"You were worried about me, now you can come with and make sure I'm safe." Rebecca said.

"I guess... So, that isn't our Arturo..." Michael said.

"Nope!" Sam said.

"He's trying to steal the timer then. I'm sure of it." Michael said. "We can't confront him on it though."

"Oh don't worry about that, I've got a plan for that..." Rebecca smirked.

The timer was counting down and there was about ten minutes left. The sliders were meeting with Arturo to put the finishing touches on the timer. Arturo was standing in his office and they put the timer on the table.

"So, you have the final component?" Michael asked.

"Indeed I do, and soon your friend will be on her way." Arturo said smiling.

"If you can just hand it to me, I'd like to put it in myself." Michael said.

"No, I insist, it needs a steady hand." Professor Arturo said.

"Uh, sure." Michael said.

Professor Arturo attached the final component to the timer and looked at the timer. Michael reached his hand out for it, and Arturo pushed it away and Michael fell into a desk. He ran out of the room and outside of the building as Sam and Rebecca helped Michael up and follow him.

"Get back here!" Michael shouted.

"Not a chance! I have a working timer, I can prove that I'm not a crackpot!" Arturo said.

"Rebecca, what happened to your plan?" Sam asked.

"Don't worry." Rebecca replied.

"Sayonara, suckers!" Arturo said pointing the timer in front of him and opening the vortex. As he did so, a man punched Arturo in the face and he fell to the floor. The man picked the timer up and threw it to Rebecca.

"There you go, guys! I hope you find Quinn! Tell him Conrad Bennish Jr. says hi!" Conrad Bennish Jr. said.

"Thanks!" Rebecca said as she jumped into the portal.

"Sure thing, dude!" Sam said, jumping in.

"Make sure that you get rid of the notes in his office. Can't have him making it again." Michael said jumping in.

"Yeah!" Conrad Bennish Jr. said. "And Arturo man, shame on you, I thought you just wanted to congratulate them."

_**To Be Continued**_


	11. Chapter 10

_Hey guys, it's your author again. I just want to thank you for reading the story, and implore you to answer the poll from Chapter 9. See you on the other slide!_

* * *

Chapter 10:

The three sliders fell out of the portal in an alleyway. They stood up and brushed themselves off. Michael looked at the timer and sighed a sigh of relief.

"How much time?" Rebecca asked.

"For the first time in a while, only twelve hours. I for one are very happy about that." Michael replied.

"That's great!" Sam said. "Let's go check this world out though."

"Good idea." Rebecca said and they walked out onto a busy street. The people on the street pushed past them.

"These are some rude people! What is this? New York?" Sam asked.

"You know what... Let me check something." Michael said running up to a corner and looking at the sign. The sign said, _5__th__ Avenue/Central Park._ Michael smiled and ran back to the group. "We're in New York!"

"But how? I thought we only traveled in a 2 mile radius." Sam said.

"I don't know! But this means that... I can see my house again! I haven't seen it since I moved to San Francisco!"

"Where is it?" Rebecca asked.

"It's a half hour to an hour subway trip!" Michael said. "I'll call Sam's phone when I get there, and before I leave. Let's meet up in Central Park."

"Fine..." Rebecca said.

"Great! See you then!" Michael ran off toward a subway station.

"Let's do some research into this world. I'm sure we can find a library or something around here." Sam said.

"Good idea." Rebecca said and they turned to walk down the block.

Meanwhile, Michael was on the subway, and riding it, passing all the familiar stops he remembered from his teenage years. He got off and sprinted home, stopping only when he saw the familiar street that he lived on for most his life, and then his house. He walked to the door and smiled as he knocked. A woman came to the door and smiled at him.

"Michael! You're home! You didn't tell us you were visiting from all the way out in California." she said.

"I know Mom, I wanted to surprise you." Michael said. He knew it wasn't his world, but he had been feeling homesick for a while.

"Dave! Michael's home!" his mom said.

"Doesn't he have school?" his dad asked.

"Yeah! But I got a week off!" Michael said.

"Whatever." his dad said.

"I missed you guys!" Michael said smiling.

Sam and Rebecca were sitting in a library, searching a computer for information on the world. Sam was reading a page out loud.

"In 1624, instead of colonizing the East Coast, the Dutch colonized the West Coast, and California is New York, and vice versa." Sam said. "That's why this seems like New York."

"Interesting concept. I always did wonder what would happen if New Amsterdam was in another part of the country." Rebecca said. "How long have we been here?"

"It's been a few hours, and Michael hasn't called yet." Sam said.

"Yeah, let's check a phone book. There can't be too many people with the last name Josephson." Rebecca said and picked up a phone book.

They searched the phone book and narrowed the names down to a few off of a page. Rebecca sighed and turned to Sam.

"Apparently, that's a super common last name." Rebecca said.

"Yeah..." Sam said. "Anyway, let's try the numbers."

Michael was sitting in his room and reveling in the nostalgia he felt for being in his bedroom after months away from it. The phone began to ring and Michael walked over to it, seeing a number he didn't recognize.

"Eh, why not?" he said picking it up. "Hello?"

"Michael! Thank god!" Rebecca said.

"Oh hey, Rebecca! What's going on?" Michael asked.

"I don't know, you said you were going to call us when you got home!" Rebecca said.

"Oh damn it! Sorry, I got so engrossed in being home." Michael said. "I'll meet you guys at Central Park in an hour."

"You better." Rebecca said as she hung up the phone.

"This world is amazing, this history is so cool! Alcatraz isn't over here anymore, it's on where Long Island is on our world. Or at least mine." Sam said.

"Yeah, our worlds are pretty similar. I've noticed that all the worlds seem to be the same as mine. At least in basic design." Rebecca said.

"Anyway, we should head over to the park now." Sam said. "We can do some sightseeing before Michael gets there."

"Good idea." Rebecca said and they left the library and started to walk to the park. They passed the alleyway where they arrived and a man pushed them into the alleyway.

"What's the big idea?" Sam asked.

"Shut up!" the man shouted, revealing that he had a knife.

"Woah man, we don't want any trouble." Sam said.

"Give me all your money!" the man shouted.

"Like hell we will!" Rebecca said swinging her leg into the man's crotch.

"Ouch!" the man screamed as he fell to the ground.

"I'll be taking this." Rebecca said picking the knife up and dropped it into a sewer grate.

"That was awesome!" Sam exclaimed as he and Rebecca ran to Central Park.

"I try." she said smiling.

"Where'd you learn how to do that?" he asked.

"I took some self-defense classes when I was in my universe." Rebecca said.

"Why have you never done that before?" Sam asked.

"You never needed me too." Rebecca said.

"We should need you to crotch kick a dude more often." Sam said laughing.

Michael arrived soon after, and ran up to the duo. They were still laughing about the situation that they had gotten into before.

"Mike! You missed it! We were almost mugged, but Rebecca kicked the dude in the balls!" Sam shouted.

"That's great!" Michael said. "We have about two minutes left."

"Can't get into any more trouble, right?" Sam asked.

"Think again, kid!" the man from before said as he ran up and grabbed Rebecca from behind and held a gun to her head.

"Don't make any sudden movements." Michael said. "Let her go."

"Give me that fancy phone of yours, and we'll call it even." the man said.

"We can't." Michael said. "It's very important."

"Too bad, my knife was important, but your girlfriend decided to throw that away." the man said.

"Listen. I'll make you a deal. You can have the phone in a minute, but you have to give Rebecca back." Michael said.

"Fine!" the man shouted and pushed Rebecca into Michael, who caught her as she steadied herself.

"Okay, a just a few more seconds..." Michael said as the timer ticked to zero. He aimed the timer at the ground and the vortex appeared.

"What the hell?" the man shouted as he turned to run away.

"Let's go, before he comes back." Rebecca said and jumped into the portal. Michael and Sam hopped in after her, as the vortex closed and the man returned to check the place where the portal was.

"Woah..." the man said. As he said that, he was cuffed by two cops from behind.

"Who would've thought we'd catch this guy in the middle of a park?" one of the cops asked.

"Yeah, although that lady said that she saw a vortex." the other cop said. "Must've been seeing things..."

_**To Be Continued...**_


End file.
